I was always told to add tomatoes to rice after the rice was cooked, and have never done it otherwise; it always works fine. Maybe the acidity in the tomatoes inhibits the absorption of fluids into the rice grains? Perhaps someone else knows why.

Thanks bullseye, I don't add acid to beans because it toughens the skin. I didn't think about it doing that to rice.

I was always told to add tomatoes to rice after the rice was cooked, and have never done it otherwise; it always works fine. Maybe the acidity in the tomatoes inhibits the absorption of fluids into the rice grains? Perhaps someone else knows why.

I've never heard of that, and haven't had any experiences with "hard" rice when cooked with tomatoes.

All the brown rice pilaf recipes I see are oven baked. Why can't it be done on the stove top like white rice? I tried and mostly failed again last night. It seems like the hot oil makes the bran so tough that the water can't be absorbed. Is there a way to overcome this?

Brown rice takes 2-3 times as long to cook as white rice - that is one reason you will find a lot of recipes that call for it being "cooked" in the oven. I make brown rice pilaf on the stove top frequently ... it just takes a little more water (about 1/4 cup), a very low heat, and anywhere between 45-60 minutes.

Saut&#233;ing the rice in oil does nothing to prolong the cooking ... it's a matter of the bran layer on the brown rice that prolongs the cooking.

FYI: mirepoix is (by volume) 2 parts onion, 1 part carrot, 1 part celery. The "Trinity" in cajun/creole cooking is the same as the French "mirepoix" - but with green bell pepper substituted for the carrots. The "Holy Trinity" is a religious concept (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost). I have a few cookbooks from New Orleans going back to 1903 - they only refer to "theTrinity" ....

Acid does appear to prolong the cooking time of brown rice for some reason. It's better to cook the rice and then add it to the tomatoes ... if you're looking for time economy.

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